1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting parts, and particularly relates to an apparatus for transporting parts which separates the first part in a row of parts being transported from the second part in this row.
2. Description of the Related Art
Regarding apparatuses for transporting small parts such as chip parts, an apparatus is known wherein an endless belt comprises the bottom of a transporting groove through which parts are guided, and wherein the parts are transported by means of intermittent driving of this belt (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-48419). In the case of this apparatus, a mechanism is provided for separating the first part in the row on the belt from the second part in the row, so as to allow the first part in the row to be extracted therefrom. This separating mechanism acts so that a stopper is brought into contact with the front-most end of a guiding groove at the time that the parts on the belt move forward with the forward motion of the belt, the first part is stopped at a certain position, and upon the first part coming into contact with the stopper so that motion of all parts is stopped, the second part is held in the same position by a holding pin while the stopper is opened forwards so as to allow the first part to proceed forward while remaining in the state of being attached by a permanent magnet on the stopper, thereby forcibly forming a gap between the first part and the second part.
However, this method in the above separating mechanism involves stopping the movement of all parts, attaching the first part by a permanent magnet provided in the stopper, and pulling this part forward by magnetic force, meaning that the parts cannot be separated in the event that the part is formed of a non-magnetic material, or that debris or the like is on the part such that magnetism does not effectively work. Also, friction occurs between the part and belt at the time of extracting the first part, so there is the possibility that the attachment between the permanent magnet and the part may be separated. Thus, such an arrangement has the problem of being unreliable.
Also, even in the event that the first part and second part are separated, the first part on the belt may not be correctly extracted at the time of extracting the part with an suction head such as a mounter or the like. In the event that the equipment fails to extract the part, the stopper cannot return to the original position (i.e., the position at which the stopper comes into contact with the tip of the guiding groove), since subsequent parts are being pressed forward by the belt. Accordingly, the first and second part cannot be separated. Known arrangements necessitate monitoring to check whether or not such failures occur, and in the event that such an extracting failure does occur, the entire apparatus being shut down.